Royals Rumors: Are Cain and Davis on the Block
By Charles Lam
The Kansas City Royals are one game above .500 with 67 games left in the regular season. If the team doesn’t go on a winning streak soon, the Royals might be willing to deal major pieces.
Insider for MLB Network and writer for Today’s Knuckleball, Jon Heyman, projects the Kansas City Royals may put big names like Lorenzo Cain and Wade Davis on the trading block if the Royals continue to lose, according to MLB trade rumors.
The Royals rumors have gone on for weeks. One week the Royals are buyers and the next week they’re sellers. It does look like Kansas City should strongly consider selling but I don’t think trading away Cain or Davis is the way to go.
If Kansas City trades way Cain and Davis, they are giving up on this season and possibly next season as well.
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Cain has been a consistent hitter in the Royals lineup. The 30-year-old slashed .290/.336/.416 before injuring his left hamstring early July. Cain smashed eight home runs and 12 doubles for 39 RBI’s in 73 games this season.
He’s got great speed which helps him cover a lot of ground in center field. Cain’s UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) is 10.2 this season. He’s saved 11 runs on defense as well. Cain has three errors and two outfield assists in center field for the defending champions.
Wade Davis’ cyborg like dominance seems to be back after serving time on the disabled list. Since coming back from the disabled list, Davis has pitched 2.1 innings, giving up one hit and striking out two. He’s allowed no runs scored during the stretch.
Davis’ season totals are impressive. He’s pitched 30.2 innings for a 1.17 ERA as of Thursday. He’s struck out 8.5 batters per nine and accumulated a 2.42 strikeout to walk ratio. His WHIP (walks hits divided by innings pitched) is under one at 0.978 almost 200 points higher than last season but still great.
I think the Kansas City Royals should hold on to both Cain and Davis even if the team continues to lose. Both players should play key roles at attempting another run at a World Series Championship title next season.
If the Royals front office decides to trade them away, Kansas City needs to get big league players in return to continue to allow the team to be competitive during the 2017 season. The 2017 season is Eric Hosmer, Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain’s last season under contracts with the Royals.
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I think Kansas City should look to trade Kendrys Morales and/or Edinson Volquez if the team continues to struggle this season. Both guys will become free agents after this season. I think it’s likely you see one if not both players being dealt if the Royals don’t win a lot before the deadline.
The Royals should trade away Morales and Volquez to get players in return, instead of letting the both players walk in free agency if a deal can’t be made.
Getting players for those guys will help the team be competitive during the 2017 season. The depth the new players will add may come in handy during the 2017 season.
I hope the Kansas City Royals get on a major winning streak before the deadline. Instead of selling, they might buy a decent fifth starter and left-handed bat to help lengthen the teams starting rotation and starting lineup.
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The trade deadline is a little over a week away and the Royals Rumors will keep happening. Things will come to fruition soon, hopefully in a positive way for the Kansas City Royals organization and its fans.